1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to searching for entries in a list stored in an electronic device, and more particularly to a method and system for searching for entries in a communication device having a touch sensitive display by way of an A by B matrix keypad.
2. Background Art
Portable wireless communication devices, such as mobile telephones, generally include only a few keys for entering information and for sorting through stored information. For instance, most mobile telephones have a standard twelve-digit keypad that includes the numbers one through nine and zero, as well as a star key and a pound key. Where these mobile telephones are capable of alphanumeric communication, such as sending and receiving SMS text messages for example, alphanumeric data entry can be slow.
By way of illustration, a user may enter the character “a” by hitting the “2-key” once, while hitting the 2-key twice enters a “b,” and so forth. Where the user wants to enter the word “act” for example, the user hits the 2-key once to enter the “a” and waits for the cursor on a display to transition to the next character. The user then hits the 2-key three times to enter the “c.” The user then hits the 8-key once to enter the “t.”
At the same time, many users of mobile telephones today have the telephone numbers of friends and family stored in a contact list or address book. It is not uncommon for a person to never memorize a friend's telephone number, as it is stored in the person's mobile telephone, which the person carries with them constantly. The problem arises when many numbers are stored in a communication device. Where such a device is configured with a standard keypad, searching for a particular contact can be more time consuming that simply typing the number due to the slow data entry noted above.
One solution to this issue is to provide mobile devices with full QWERTY keypads. The problem with this solution is that the overall device increases dramatically in size. To accommodate a QWERTY keypad, the device may need to be fifty to seventy-five percent larger (or more) than the device would be with a standard telephone keypad. Consumers often demand devices with small form factors. As such, this option is less than desirable.
Another solution is to provide a “virtual” QWERTY keypad via a touch sensitive display. The problem with this solution is that high-resolution multi-pixel displays are expensive, as are the high granularity sensors that are used to detect a user's touch. Consequently, consumers shopping for moderately priced communication devices may not be willing to pay to add this feature.
There is thus a need for an improved method and apparatus for searching and entering alphanumeric data in portable communication devices.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.